I think we all know that Aaron Ramsdale will leave Arsenal in the summer to be replaced permanently by David Raya. This creates a small headache for Edu and the team as we will potentially need to sign 2 new keepers – Raya plus a second choice.
Back-up keepers are not easy to recruit. You need to get someone in who is good enough to play week in, week out if your main keeper is out long term, but also happy to sit on the bench and hardly ever play beyond the League Cup if your main keeper stays fit.
After losing his spot to David Raya, Ramsdale has played just 6 games this season. Two were against Brentford (who Raya could not face), two in the League Cup, one in the Champions League dead rubber and the final coming against Liverpool in the FA Cup.
Clubs go down different routes for their back up keepers.
Liverpool’s is Caoimhín Kelleher, who has come through their youth team. He is then further backed up by experienced Adrian – now 37 he has over 300 first team appearances to his name.
Manchester City’s 2nd choice German Stefan Ortega. He was plucked from Bundesliga relegation foder Arminia Bielefeld. Ortega clearly preferred to not play for the English champions rather than play week in week out for a team battling relegation / fighting promotion. He is backed up by the legend that is Scott Carson.
Karl Hein’s contract is set to expire this summer. It will be interesting to see what the club do with him. I do not think he is yet ready to step up as 2nd choice, and also think if he does leave, we will probably see an academy graduate (James Hillson, Arthur Okonkwo or Ovie Ejehiri) step up to be the 3rd choice.
So who might we be looking up as David Raya’s back up?
Álvaro Valles
Whoever comes in to cover David Raya will have to be a ball playing goalkeeper. Like outfield players, you would want to be able to replace him with a “like for like” so that one injury does not lead to wholesale tactical changes.
Alvaro Valles has 1-year on his contract and turns 27-years-old this summer. He currently plays for Las Palmas who sit 11th in La Liga. The Gran Canaria based side have spent much of the last 20-years in the Spanish 2nd division, gaining promotion to La Liga last season (having been relegated in 2018).
Last summer, Las Palmas signed Aaron Escandell, with the expectation that he would become number one. Valles form in his first La Liga season has left Escandell with the number one shirt and zero appearances.
Valles is currently 2nd in the race for La Liga’s Zamora trophy (The award goes to the goalkeeper who has the lowest “goals-to-games” ratio). Only Spain number one Unai Simon is ahead of him.
The keeper has been key in the way Las Palmas retain possession. often taking up a position on the edge of his box and playing as a sweeper keeper. He has had more touches outside of the penalty area than any other keeper in La Liga.
He is also an adept shot stopper, out performing is “expected goals conceded” and is more than a decent presence in the box.
Such as his form has been this season, I would imagine many top 10 clubs across Europe will be looking at him as their number one. It will be down to Mikel Arteta to convince him that he is better off being a title challenging number two than a mid-table first choice.
Anthony Patterson
The North Shields-born keeper has been in fine form this season for his boyhood club, Sunderland.
Back in August, following interest in the goalkeeper over the summer, Patterson told the Echo: “I’m obviously really happy here. This is my team, I have grown up supporting Sunderland. I’m happy here, content and looking forward to many more games. It’s that extra bit special being able to play in front of the Sunderland fans and being able to be on the pitch rather than as a fan really.”
After signing a new deal with the club, Patterson said in October: “It was a no-brainer for me really. You just look at how well we’re doing this season so far and it was quite straightforward. The club’s philosophy of young players and developing them, it’s a place where I want to be. It was a big factor because obviously we have some great young talent in that squad and can only get better really. I look forward to the rest of my time here.”
Sunderland’s recent drop in form probably takes promotion off the table this season, and the result could be that they cash in on 23-year-old Patterson.
Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester City have all reportedly been watching Patterson this season.
A move will be down to whether Patterson wants to be a career number 2, or has ambitions of being first choice at a lower level and being in the frame for future England honours.
Arijanet Muric
The Burnley keeper can probably feel aggrieved at losing his place in Vincent Kompany’s team this season.
Muric was named in the Championship Team of Year last season, only to find himself start this season on the bench behind big money signing James Trafford.
The 25-year-old regained his place in the Burnley team for their last game against Brentford. It will be interesting to see whether Kompany sticks with the man that was integral to Burnley winning the Championship, or succumbs to the pressure of restoring Trafford to the line-up considering the clubs £20m outlay.
With Burnley likely to go down, it would be very surprising if Trafford is on the bench for next season. He will start considering the investment. That will leave Muric as second choice.
Having spent 7-years at Manchester City, Muric is more than comfortable with the ball at his feet and was integral in the way Burnley build from the back last season.
Muric is also homegrown, having joined Manchester City as a 16-year-old.
My choice would be Álvaro Valles. He ticks a lot of boxes we need as a keeper. It is only whether he wishes to be a 2nd choice at a Premier League chasing club against playing week in, week out at a mid-table Spanish club.
With a year left on his contract, and his replacement already in place, Las Palmas will almost definitely cash in on him this summer. There is a feeling he might be Barcelona bound.
I also really like Muric.
He proved himself as more than capable in the Championship last season and might be available for cheap when Burnley go down. As a Kosovan international, Muric knows he will unlikely lose his place as their first choice keeper even if he sits on Arsenal’s bench.
I imagine Ramsdale’s replacement will probably end up coming out of left field. Someone we would not have either thought about – a bit like when we signed Matt Turner.
There is also the outside chance that Hein has impressed enough o the training pitch that Arteta pushes for him to get a new deal and is promoted to 2nd choice.
Enjoy your Monday.
Keenos
She Wore A Yellow Ribbon 
Alvaro Valles is the man bro,imo he’s very capable of usurping Raya, I hope Edu and Arteta are fans
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